Menhaden Fish Meal

No. Menhaden is a small fish, so its mercury buildup is low.

Menhaden fish meal is made by cooking, drying and grinding menhaden, a small and oily Atlantic fish. It is a common protein ingredient in dry cat food. The Merck Veterinary Manual names fish as one of the most common food allergens in cats, so some cats react to it. If your cat has a food allergy or another medical condition, ask your veterinarian before changing foods.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

Menhaden is a small, oily fish caught along the Atlantic coast of North America, and most of the catch goes into fish meal and fish oil rather than onto dinner plates. In cat food, the meal adds concentrated animal protein. The fish's natural oil also brings omega-3 fatty acids. Because the label names the species, owners know exactly which fish is in the bag.

Menhaden fish meal names the species, and plain fish meal does not. AAFCO says that when an ingredient comes from a non-mammal such as fish, it has to be called by its proper identifying term, and a named species gives owners more to go on. That detail matters most during an elimination diet, when a veterinarian needs to know every protein a cat has eaten.

Source: aafco.org

Usually, yes. Fish meal is made from fish that is cooked, dried and ground, and the bone is ground in with the flesh. That bone is where much of the meal's calcium and phosphorus comes from. The grinding turns everything into a fine powder before it is mixed into kibble, so the finished food does not contain whole or sharp fish bones.

Pettings gives menhaden fish meal 5 out of 5 and lists it as a named animal protein. It appears on 13 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. Pettings rates it highly because the fish species is named on the label. Each food's page shows how the whole recipe scores overall.